A former Pakistani rock star attempts to adjust to life in New York City while simultaneously making friends and selling coffee from a push cart on the streets of Manhattan in Iranian-American director Ramin Bahrani poignant,… MoreA former Pakistani rock star attempts to adjust to life in New York City while simultaneously making friends and selling coffee from a push cart on the streets of Manhattan in Iranian-American director Ramin Bahrani poignant, character-driven drama. By day Ahmad (Ahmad Razvi) tends to hurried Manhattan-ites by keeping their bellies full and ensuring that they are adequately caffeinated, and by night he supplements his income by selling bootleg porn DVDs. Though Ahmad hopes to one day raise enough money to purchase a place of his own and reunite with his estranged son, times are tough in the city and the hard-working immigrant soon strikes up a tentative friendship with fellow countryman Mohammed (Charles Daniel Sandoval); a generous but sometimes condescending soul who readily takes the fledgling New Yorker under his knowing wing while offering additional work decorating his apartment. Spanish immigrant Noemi (Leticia Dolera) works at a newsstand near Ahmad's cart, and also finds herself warming to the haunted former rock-star's timid ways. As Ahmad, Mohammed, and Noemi gradually begin to socialize together, a tragedy in Ahmad's past soon prompts the struggling New York newcomer to question the true nature of his current relationships. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Michael Simmond's cinematography, especially in scenes of Ahmad muscling his way amid evening traffic and early-morning delivery trucks, is wonderfully true to the moods of a city that never sleeps and seldom nods at the hard work going on before it.

Michael Wilmington

Chicago Tribune

Ahmad's concerns -- his sadness and his striving -- become universal. Though his early-morning riser's world is gray and threaded with melancholy, it becomes, in the end, a place we recognize.

Amber Wilkinson

Eye for Film

Although the acting isn't so hot from the non-professional bit part players, Ahmad Ravzi - also a non-professional actor and former push cart seller himself - puts in a stoic and solid performance.

Immigrant finds life in the greatest city in the world less than advertised in this blah telling of one soul's dismal discovery of real life here.… MoreImmigrant finds life in the greatest city in the world less than advertised in this blah telling of one soul's dismal discovery of real life here. You're gonna need to be desperate to make it through this.

Walter M.

[font=Century Gothic]In "Man Push Cart," Ahmad(Ahmad Razvi) spends the pre-dawn hours dragging his push cart through the cavernous avenues of… More[font=Century Gothic]In "Man Push Cart," Ahmad(Ahmad Razvi) spends the pre-dawn hours dragging his push cart through the cavernous avenues of Manhattan to his appointed corner where he serves coffee and bagels to commuters. At night, he makes the long trek back to Brooklyn, dragging along a propane tank. While buying cigarettes, he finds Noemi(Leticia Dolera), who is from Spain, manning the newsstand. And a fellow Pakistani, Mohammad(Charles Daniel Sandoval), recognizes Ahmad as a once famous singer from nis native Lahore...[/font]
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[font=Century Gothic]Eschewing any kind of overt politics, writer-director Ramin Bahrani with "Man Push Cart" manages to deftly tell a sober tale about immigrants in post 9/11 New York by showing the city from their vantage point.(I am left wondering how he pulled off some of the shots in the movie.) To him, the immigrants are its backbone, especially Ahmad who works long hours unnoticed, serving up the lifeblood of the city. For once, repetitiveness works, giving a clear indication of what his life is like over the long haul.[/font]

MJS MJS

A micro budget movie about a Pakistani immigrant working at a coffee stand on the streets of New York. Almost the definition of a "sundancy" movie,… MoreA micro budget movie about a Pakistani immigrant working at a coffee stand on the streets of New York. Almost the definition of a "sundancy" movie, the film is a neat little slice of life. The film basically just follows this character over the course of a week and see his struggles. Throughout the film there's a real tension the viewer can't quite put their finger on, you just know something bad is going to happen but you've gotten to know this guy so well that you can hardly bear to watch. The film is marred by it's low budget, one can tell that a number of the supporting characters are played by amateurs and a few scenes supposedly set in a nightclub look like they were shot in someone's garage. Otherwise this is a very compelling independent movie.

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